Vivo announced a handset with a curved screen today and it isn’t thought to be the only brand planning to do so. Xiaomi and Huawei are also understood to be interested in using the Edge display on their own upcoming smartphones, SamMobile reports. However, developing the glass-bending techniques and accompanying firmware required to produce a curved display isn’t easy so instead the firms have turned to Samsung’s existing solution.
Samsung’s display division already makes screens for third-party phones. Until now, the Edge panel has been kept reserved for its own devices though, in part due to low supply that has restricted it to Samsung’s flagship handsets. The company launched the Galaxy S7 Edge, the latest first-party device to include a curved display, last week, unveiling a new software suite alongside the announcement.
The curved display isn’t as exclusive as it has been in the past though. The company appears to have rectified the issues in the manufacturing process and begun to accept large orders from manufacturers interested in buying Edge screens. It has already supplied panels to BlackBerry for use with the Android-powered Priv and is now ready to ship to other interested parties for use with their own devices.
Rumours of Huawei’s next flagship using a dual-edge display have been floating around for a while and it now looks like the reports may be accurate. Xiaomi is also thought to be planning a device using the technology. Samsung seems to have two of China’s biggest manufacturers convinced of the value of what many — Samsung included — initially viewed as a crazy niche concept.
Samsung’s Edge displays feature curved glass on both sides that tapers inwards towards the phone’s body, creating an illusion of the screen extending away from the phone. The display has no visible bezels, immersing the user in the content onscreen.
It first appeared on 2014’s Galaxy Note Edge where only one side was curved. Since then, it has been improved dramatically to its current state, praised by reviewers and now accompanied by useful software tricks.
Today, Vivo launched the Xplay5, a flagship smartphone with a curved display sourced from Samsung. The 5.43-inch Super AMOLED panel has a Quad HD resolution that noticeably wraps around the sides of the device.
The phone is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 processor and includes a huge 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. A 16-megapixel rear camera and fingerprint sensor are present on the back of the phone. The Xplay5 goes on sale on March 8 and costs $655.
Samsung selling its Edge display to rivals may be alarming to fans of the company’s products but should be positive for the smartphone market. It gives consumers more choice over which device to buy, providing people across the world with access to one of the unlikely smartphone success stories of recent years. Adoption of curved displays is likely to increase over the next few years and Samsung is trying to ensure it plays a major part in it.
